Helmet and ballistic glasses are the minimum when cops are present. Chemical-resistant respirator if you have asthma or need to be functional in the presence of OC or CS gas.
cops use civilian-worn PPE as justification for increasingly violent crowd control. They’re going to do it anyway, of course, but they blame you for protecting yourself while they do it
Just fyi a bump cap is negligible protection against any type of hard impact like; a falling object, a baton strike, a thrown object of any mass, or any rifle fired projectile like a rubber bullet or beanbag. A bump cap is only for protection against slow speed / low energy bumps on hard/rough/sharp surfaces, e.g. a mechanic working under a car, someone reaching into warehouse racking, a sparky working in a crawl space etc.
Not saying they’re a bad idea, they’re not, they’re very concealable, and can protect from causes of minor injuries that would otherwise have caused cuts and scrapes that could require medical attention, they’re really good at that, but that’s all they’re for. (Also worn inside a suitable hat will help with sunburn which is no bad thing!)
Just be aware anything that would cause a major injury without a bump cap will still cause a major injury with a bump cap.
Do wear a bump cap if you don’t have something better or if concealment is the priority. But don’t put yourself at risk thinking you’re safe because you’re wearing one, because, for anything that would actually cause serious injury you’re not really any better off with a bump cap than without.
Is there any sort of concealable helmet that would work for this kind of thing? Wearing a full riot helmet will just be used as justification for excessive force by the cops against the wearer and their surroundings, so is there any way to protect yourself without making yourself a target?
Not really, they’re two competing design criteria. Concealable means small and low profile. But for protection you need it to be strong to distribute the impact across your head and also cushioning to absorb energy of the impact and spread the impact event out over a longer duration (like an airbag). As a result you need a relatively tough material suspended away from the surface of your head e.g. with webbing or foam etc. so good helmets are military ones (obviously) or mountaineering helmets, ski sports, full face mountain biking, construction helmets etc.
I’ve been thinking about this all week. A very slim helmet could be concealed under a hood, and that hood could have a sheer cloth front cover that hides both helmet and face at a distance
Basically a sizeable ringwraith-style hood whose job is to hide your helmet. With smart design, the helmet itself could be broken down into more compact sections for transport afterward
Good to know. Thanks for clarifying my post! I’ve not used one myself, and assumed they’d offer a greater degree of protection than that, esp vs a baton or deflecting something like a rubber bullet.
Not to say bump caps are bad - I have several which I wear for diy and for work on certain appropriate job sites and the like. Knowing that, I’d wear one to a low risk protest as a “better than literally nothing” option, and I’d recommend others do the same, but you need to know their limitations and when they become no longer adequate protection.
For sure- I only know them from seeing them in shops lol. In the two percent I’m not in the office, I’m in the “why are we even wearing hard hats, anything on this site will kill you” field 😆
Please wear way more protective gear than this to protests. The cops want to permanently maim you
Helmet and ballistic glasses are the minimum when cops are present. Chemical-resistant respirator if you have asthma or need to be functional in the presence of OC or CS gas.
cops use civilian-worn PPE as justification for increasingly violent crowd control. They’re going to do it anyway, of course, but they blame you for protecting yourself while they do it
Putting in a plug for “bump caps” and “bump cap inserts” as a low profile method of head protection. Not as protective but it’ll distribute the impactRetraction - go with something more protective when the pigs are out for blood.
Just fyi a bump cap is negligible protection against any type of hard impact like; a falling object, a baton strike, a thrown object of any mass, or any rifle fired projectile like a rubber bullet or beanbag. A bump cap is only for protection against slow speed / low energy bumps on hard/rough/sharp surfaces, e.g. a mechanic working under a car, someone reaching into warehouse racking, a sparky working in a crawl space etc.
Not saying they’re a bad idea, they’re not, they’re very concealable, and can protect from causes of minor injuries that would otherwise have caused cuts and scrapes that could require medical attention, they’re really good at that, but that’s all they’re for. (Also worn inside a suitable hat will help with sunburn which is no bad thing!)
Just be aware anything that would cause a major injury without a bump cap will still cause a major injury with a bump cap.
Do wear a bump cap if you don’t have something better or if concealment is the priority. But don’t put yourself at risk thinking you’re safe because you’re wearing one, because, for anything that would actually cause serious injury you’re not really any better off with a bump cap than without.
Is there any sort of concealable helmet that would work for this kind of thing? Wearing a full riot helmet will just be used as justification for excessive force by the cops against the wearer and their surroundings, so is there any way to protect yourself without making yourself a target?
Maybe the hair-helmet aka hairmet?
Not really, they’re two competing design criteria. Concealable means small and low profile. But for protection you need it to be strong to distribute the impact across your head and also cushioning to absorb energy of the impact and spread the impact event out over a longer duration (like an airbag). As a result you need a relatively tough material suspended away from the surface of your head e.g. with webbing or foam etc. so good helmets are military ones (obviously) or mountaineering helmets, ski sports, full face mountain biking, construction helmets etc.
Damn laws of physics
I’ve been thinking about this all week. A very slim helmet could be concealed under a hood, and that hood could have a sheer cloth front cover that hides both helmet and face at a distance
Basically a sizeable ringwraith-style hood whose job is to hide your helmet. With smart design, the helmet itself could be broken down into more compact sections for transport afterward
Good to know. Thanks for clarifying my post! I’ve not used one myself, and assumed they’d offer a greater degree of protection than that, esp vs a baton or deflecting something like a rubber bullet.
Not to say bump caps are bad - I have several which I wear for diy and for work on certain appropriate job sites and the like. Knowing that, I’d wear one to a low risk protest as a “better than literally nothing” option, and I’d recommend others do the same, but you need to know their limitations and when they become no longer adequate protection.
For sure- I only know them from seeing them in shops lol. In the two percent I’m not in the office, I’m in the “why are we even wearing hard hats, anything on this site will kill you” field 😆